Review: JBL Partybox 710 bringing the beats

We like to party, we like, we like to party. Who doesn’t love a good party, especially at Christmas time? Whether you’re heading away with family, making a road trip, or just chilling by the beach, good tunes are a must. If you’re looking for some fun party times this holidays, you’ll want to take a look at the JBL Partybox speakers.

They are fun, portable speakers, that will make you an instant hit at any gathering. With small cubes right through to giant systems, JBL has really hit the nail on the head when it comes to “party”. We got the latest JBL Partybox 710 speaker to try out. After some time in the house and at the sporting field, we’ve got the verdict!

High-quality sound

The first and arguably most important feature of any speaker is sound. The JBL Partybox 710 has quality sound with deep bass and crystal clear highs that fill the room. I say room, but I really mean space. The speaker takes over any physical space and becomes the centerpiece for your party. I live in an apartment, so testing out the sound wasn’t really going to work inside. So we took it to a place where it really should be – outside!

We carted the JBL Partybox 710 to a football oval for our national Quidditch tournament. Yes, I play Quidditch. The competition was on an AFL field, so it was huge. We turned on the sound system and it easily carried across the fields. We had to leave it at only 25% volume most of the time as it was so loud and bassy. Our team also ran out onto the grounds to test the sound. We could still hear it in the middle of the field. We didn’t get the chance to crank it all the way to 100% otherwise people’s ears would have bled. There’s no doubt that you would have easily heard it from the other side of the football oval.

It’s safe to say it has high-quality sound that carries in practically any outdoor setting. And if one isn’t enough, you can also pair two of them together!

Light show

Yes, the sound is the most important thing, but with the JBL Partybox 710, you notice something else before you hear the music. As soon as we unboxed this, plugged it in, and turned it on, we were greeted with a cool startup light sequence. It didn’t stop there. The LED lights cycle even without the music. I swear we stared at it for about five minutes just watching the lights before even thinking of using it as a speaker.

These LED lights add a fun and energetic touch. The lights move to the beat of the music and each of the different lighting modes can be adjusted to fit the mood of the party.

Design

The design of the speaker is stylish and modern, and it looks great in many settings. The matte/rubbery texture suits the design and gives it a sleek overall look. The JBL Partybox 710 speaker is waterproof and resistant to dirt. You’ll notice the speaker in a lot of my photos is a little dusty. We had 50km/hr winds while out playing Quidditch. This didn’t phase the speaker at all. It also rained (crazy Melbourne weather) and the speaker effortlessly continued to play music. After the tournament, I was able to use a damp cloth to effortlessly clean it.

In addition to its impressive sound and rugged design, the JBL Partybox is versatile. It can be connected to multiple devices via Bluetooth or AUX. There’s also a built-in microphone and guitar input to allow for impromptu karaoke sessions or live performances. The controls on top of the speaker are relatively intuitive. Although I did play around with the Bass, Treble, and Echo dials before realising these only control sound balance for a connected guitar.

Portability

Okay, so it’s sold as a “portable” speaker, but just how portable is the JBL Partybox 710? I would say, yes you can move it around, but it’s far from being truly “portable”. The speaker requires mains power, which luckily we had at the football fields for our tournament. Without a battery, you’re limited on where you can take the speaker. It’s also not light or easy to carry around. Weighing in around 25kg, you’ll need a bit of muscle in order to move it. The speaker does come with wheels, which made it easy to wheel along the concrete paved path. However getting the Partybox 710 up and down the stairs was a little trickier.

One thing the speaker is missing is a handle or groove on the bottom. There’s a handle on top of the speaker so you can move it around like a wheelie bin. But if you need to pick it up and carry up/down a flight of stairs or over rough terrain, a small handle or indent to grab the speaker from the bottom would have made life a whole lot easier.

In terms of size, this thing is absolutely giant. Compared to the JBL Flip – which was popular some years ago – the JBL Partybox 710 is 180 times the size of the JBL Flip. That’s just insane. The speaker worked well on the football field and will probably fit nicely at a nice big farm shed. But it’s just massive.

It’s not exactly easy to carry around and the high volume sound is most likely overkill in many situations. It just barely fit in the back of a regular sized sedan. You’d want to be careful that you don’t end up upgrading your car just to carry around a speaker! The JBL Partybox 710 is definitely the type of speaker that you want to have the space for a more permanent setup.

You’ve got options

If you have a dedicated space to either store, house, or place the JBL Partybox 710, it will be perfect for you. Pool sides, farm sheds, marquees, sporting pavilions – these are all fantastic locations for this speaker. Just remember to have access to mains power. But if you’re reading this thinking “I really like the sound of this speaker, it looks cool, and I want access to the epic light show” then you’re in luck. JBL released a whole range of Party Box speakers.

Starting at the smaller end, you have the JBL Party Encore Essential and JBL Partybox On-The-Go. Both of these have six hours of battery life and are easy to carry around. Then you move into the Partybox line. First, there’s the JBL Partybox 110, then 310, 710, and finally the big one… because if the JBL Partybox 710 isn’t big enough, you can always move up to the JBL Partybox 1000! You’ll move up in price and size since the numbers correlate to the size of the speaker. The Partybox 110 is just over half a meter hall, whilst the Partybox 1000 comes in at a whopping 105cm!

Verdict

The JBL Partybox 710 is such a fun speaker. I love the deep, clear sound, and the multitude of RGB light modes suits my party vibe. I also love the fact there’s a mobile app that allows me to customise my sound and lighting patterns. It worked so well during our tournament and gave our team the pump up edge we needed over our competition.

It’s not the cheapest speaker going around at $999.95 AUD RRP. However with all the Christmas sales, many retailers – including the JBL website – have huge sales on the full range of Partybox speakers. Now’s the time to buy if you’re looking. Just remember you need to have a big space for the JBL Partybox 710! I am very much looking forward to carting this up to my family home on the farm and using it at the shed and by the pool.